AfricaPress-Tanzania: STANDARD Chartered Bank, in partnership with Sanlam Tanzania, has launched a suite of bancassurance products covering property and motor insurance.
The joint business venture aims at serving customers who want to widen the scope of insurance service penetration that ensures the security and safety of their properties and motor vehicles.
Speaking at the launch of the products in Dar es Salaam at the weekend, Standard Chartered Bank Chief Executive Officer Sanjay Rughani said bancassurance was becoming an important factor in amplifying financial sector growth in the country.
He said partnerships between banks and insurance companies were of vital benefits to clients as they enabled them to stand a common ground on service delivery perspectives, hence they simplified risk coverage procedures in case unforeseen incidents occurred.
“We are launching the bancassurance product today to not only help our clients secure their funds and wealth, but also their peace of mind and thus their wellbeing,” he said.
Mr Rughani commended bancassurance guidelines issued by Tanzania Insurance Regulatory Authority (TIRA) and the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) for banks and financial institutions in 2019, highlighting that they demonstrated positive collaboration and development by the two regulators to enable growth and expansion through a coordinated and regulated manner.
Speaking after the CEO, Standard Chartered Bank Head of Retail Banking Ajmair Riaz said Standard Chartered had learnt that the two insurance covered fit into the second pillar of the basic needs, which addressed safety needs, a long-term spiraling demand among its customers.
“A survey conducted by the bank shows that clients want affordability, convenience, security and a happy guaranteed lifestyle. On the security aspect clients not only require security for their funds, but also for their physical assets,” he said.
He noted that with this data at hand, they had worked closely with Sanlam Tanzania to come up with a unique proposition for the bank’s clients that was not only affordable, but one that covered them. Apart from covering the two areas the bank has introduced various risk covers, including carjacking to offer a group and personal accident cover that caters for domestic workers working at residences of insured individuals.
“As Standard Chartered we are aware of how important residential property is to individuals. We know that people spend almost a lifetime being able to afford their own accommodation. Many people have either constructed or bought their houses using mortgage products and other means.”
“On average building or buying houses in Tanzania costs tens to hundreds of millions of shillings. With this kind of investment it is absolutely important to ensure that these properties are covered against the risks of fire and other calamities that can lead to losses,” Mr Riaz said.
